Yangon, the capital city, is the main gateway to Myanmar. Evergreen and cool with lush tropical trees, shady parks and beautiful lakes, Yangon has earned the name of "The Garden City of the East". Yangon was founded by King Alaungpaya on the site of a small settlement called Dagon when he conquered Lower Myanmar in 1755. The name Yangon means "End of Strife" which was anglicized as Rangoon by the British. The name of this city has changed along the history: first Dagon, then Yangon, and Okalapa Aung Myae Yan Hnin, then finally back to Yangon. The present day Yangon covers 400 sq m and has a population of over 5 million.

he history of Yangon is intertwined with the history of the Shwedagon Pagoda. Wherever one may be in Yangon, in the busy town center, in the new towns of the east, in the industrial zone of the west, in the paddy fields of the north, the golden form of the Shwedagon will be seen on the skyline rising above the foliage of the tropical trees, and the top of high rises.

Shwe Dagon Pagoda

The most notable building in Yangon is the Shwe Dagon Pagoda, a great cone-shaped Buddhist monument that crowns a hill about one mile north of the Cantonment. The pagoda itself is a solid brick stupa (Buddhist reliquary) that is completely covered with gold. It rises 326 feet (99 m) on a hill 168 feet (51 m) above the city.

The perimeter of the base of the Pagoda is 1,420 fee and its height 326 feet above the platform. The base is surrounded by 64 small pagodas with four larger, one in the center of each side.

There also are 4 sphinxes, one at each corner with 6 leogryphs, 3 on each side of them. Projecting beyond the base of the Pagoda, one on the center of each side are Tazaungs in which are images of the Buddha and where offerings are made.

There are also figures of elephants crouching and men kneeling, and pedestals for offerings all around the base. In front of the 72 shrines surrounding the base of the Pagoda, you will find in several places images of lions, serpents, ogres, yogis, spirits, or Wathundari (Recording Secretary Angel).

On the wall below the first terrace of the Pagoda at the WSW and WNW corners, you will see embossed figures. The former represents King Okkalapa who first built the Pagoda. The latter is a pair of figures; the one above represents Sakka who assisted in foundation of the Pagoda, and the one below, Me Lamu, consort of Sakka and mother of Okkalapa.

There are 4 entrances leading into the base of this great Shwe Dagon Pagoda. No one is sure what is inside. According to some legendary tales, there are flying and turning swords that never stop, which protect the pagoda from intruders; some says there are even underground tunnels that leads to Bagan and Thailand!

Karaweik

Karaweik Hall is a landmark of Yangon, locating in Kandawgyi (Royal) Lake. This modern architecture of a mythical creature Karaweik, has 3 floors and ceremonies are held in it. This whole building was gilded with gold about 20 years ago.

The Karaweik Hall, including the ancient traditional Karaweik renovated in tasteful style, its beauty enhanced by the Kandawgyi which adds grandeur of Yangon, the Garden City, with added attractions such as showrooms of ten traditional arts, shops, amusement section for children and ample parking space.

Karaweik Palace will serve lunch and dinner with Myanmar, Chinese and Eastern and western cuisine at moderate prices, in the ornate halls, accompanied by a variety of traditional entertainment.

War Memorial

Thaukkyan war cemetery is the largest of the three war cemeteries in Myanmar. It was built in 1951 for the reception of graves from four battlefield cemeteries at Akyab, Mandalay, Meiktila and Sahmaw which were difficult to access and could not be maintained. The last was an original 'Chindit' cemetery containing many of those who died in the battle for Myitkyina. The graves have been grouped together at Thaukkyan to preserve the individuality of these battlefield cemeteries Burials were also transferred from civil and cantonment cemeteries, and from a number of isolated jungle and roadside sites. Because of prolonged post-war unrest, considerable delay occurred before the Army Graves Service were able to complete their work, and in the meantime many such graves had disappeared. However, when the task was resumed, several hundred more graves were retrieved from scattered positions throughout the country and brought together here. The cemetery now contains 6,374 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, 867 of them unidentified. In the 1950s, the graves of 52 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War were brought into the cemetery from the following cemeteries where permanent maintenance was not possible: Henzada (1); Meiktila Cantonment (8); Thayetmyo New (5); Thamakan (4); Mandalay Military (12) and Maymyo Cantonment (22). Taukkyan War Cemetery also contains: The Yangon Memorial, which bears the names of almost 27,000 men of the Commonwealth land forces who died during the campaigns in Burma and who have no known grave.

Yangon Zoological Garden

Yangon Zoological Garden has been inaugurated since 1906. Nowadays, it has an area of 69.25 acres. It is a World class zoo where one may observe a collection of animals habitat to Myanmar as well as the World over. There are 59 species of animals, 63 species of birds, 17 species of reptiles on the fauna side. On the flora side, there are over 15,000 trees and plants.

Yangon Zoological Garden is opened daily. On weekends and public holidays, special animal shows are featured to entertain the visiting public.

Visitor may also joy-ride elephant, peny, elephant cart or horse wagon. There are also restaurants serving fresh and wholesome food and snack within the garden. Moreover, there is an amusement park and a museum on natural history.

Yangon Zoological Garden is run with the aims and objectives of, facilitating recreation for the public, educating the public on conservation and research awareness, facilitating student researchers on Zoology and Botany, and lastly but not the least facilitating the breeding of rare and endangered species. Some of the species can be viewed as followed.